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Public Lecture

Please note that the list below only shows forthcoming events, which may not include regular events that have not yet been entered for the forthcoming term. Please see the past events page for a list of all seminar series that the department has on offer.

Further Information:

Far from taking us down the road of unpredictability and chaos, randomness has the power to help us solve a fascinating range of problems. Join Julia Wolf on a mathematical journey from penalty shoot-outs to internet security and patterns in the primes.

Julia Wolf is University Lecturer in the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics at the University of Cambridge.

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The supreme task of the physicist, Einstein believed, was to understand the 'miraculous' underlying order of the universe, in terms of the most basic laws of nature, written in mathematical language. Most physicists believe that it's best to seek these laws by trying to understand surprising new experimental findings. Einstein and his peer Paul Dirac disagreed and controversially argued that new laws are best sought by developing the underlying mathematics.

Graham will describe how this mathematical approach has led to insights into both fundamental physics and advanced mathematics, which appear to be inextricably intertwined. Some physicists and mathematicians believe they are working towards a giant mathematical structure that encompasses all the fundamental laws of nature. But might this be an illusion? Might mathematics be leading physics astray?

Graham Farmelo is a Fellow at Churchill College, Cambridge and the author of 'The Strangest Man,' a biography of Paul Dirac.

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Oxford Mathematics Public Lectures together with the Simonyi Science Show:

Will a computer ever compose a symphony, write a prize-winning novel, or paint a masterpiece? And if so, would we be able to tell the difference?

In The Creativity Code, Marcus du Sautoy examines the nature of creativity, as well as providing an essential guide into how algorithms work, and the mathematical rules underpinning them. He asks how much of our emotional response to art is a product of our brains reacting to pattern and structure. And might machines one day jolt us in to being more imaginative ourselves?

Marcus du Sautoy is Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science in Oxford.

Further Information:

John Bush is a Professor of Applied Mathematics in the Department of Mathematics at MIT specialising in fluid dynamics. John's research is concerned with physical mathematics, the application of mathematical methods to problems arising in the physical sciences that can be readily observed in either natural or laboratory settings.

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Former Barcelona, Bayern Munich and current Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola is considered by many to be a footballing genius. He has revolutionised the tactical approach to football and that revolution has come about through his careful study of the geometry of the game. But can abstract mathematics really help a team improve its performance?

David Sumpter thinks it can. Unlike the simple statistics applied to (lesser) sports, football is best understood through the patterns the players create together on the field. From the geometry of shooting, through the graph theory of passing, to the tessellations created by players as they find space to move in to, all of these patterns can be captured by mathematical models. As a result, football clubs are increasingly turning to mathematicians.

David Sumpter is Professor of Applied Mathematics at the University of Uppsala, Sweden. His scientific research covers everything from the inner workings of fish schools and ant colonies, the analysis of the passing networks of football teams and segregation in society.

Further Information:

Chris Budd is a British mathematician known especially for his contribution to non-linear differential equations and their applications in industry. He is currently Professor of Applied Mathematics at the University of Bath, and Professor of Geometry at Gresham College.

Chris is a passionate populariser of mathematics, reflected in his appointment as Chair of Mathematics of the Royal Institution of Great Britain in 2000. He works on a number of projects with schools and has written a book, "Mathematics Galore", based on his series of popular talks. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 2015 for services to science and maths education.